Television programmes

and Medium has ended. I never saw that coming.

yes thats Moffat who has alienated and disappointed swathes of dedicated Who fans with his sexist drivel.

Found a book at a street market today, "Blott on The Landscape" by Tom Sharpe, anyone remember the TV prog from years ago ?

I only vaguely recall it Azriel. But I did love another Sharpe Tv dramatisation- Porter House Blue.
Amazing how good as a young man David JAson was at playing old ones!

I remember that one also, You should read the book,"Blott on the Landscape",its so funny! David Jason really is our "National Treasure",hes done so many progs over the years!

Anyone who doesn't like Friends will probably eat your children when you're not looking.

I don't like Friends... my partner does though. For a guy covered in tattoos he has pretty girly taste in TV...

My all-time favourite shows are Game of Thrones (swords + dragons + political machinations + boobs = perfection), Battlestar Galactica (the remake), Doctor Who, the Big Bang Theory, Top Gear, anything by David Attenborough and Sherlock. Other than that I just watch sport - mostly cricket, horse racing, football (the real sort), rugby league and Aussie Rules.

This doesnt really belong here, but I dont think we have thread just for radio shows.
This about a game played on the BBc radio show I am Sorry I haven't a Clue (which like Who has been going for about 50 years).

The game is called Mornington Crescent- and it strikes me as a very Forumshire sort of mentality game.
First here is top BBC political journalist Andrew Marr talking with top historian Adam-Hart Davies about the game and its origins and how it is played, to give you an idea.



Here is an example of a round of the game being played on Im sorry I havent a Clue- please note this version incorporats th elatter rules 628 through to 812, allowing for th euse of navigational aides in plotting course. I am more a traditionalist and prefer the 1968 rules myself which allows for Reverse Shunting, although the downside of that, obviously, is you can find yourellf very easily stuck in Knidd.



And to further your knowledge of the game here are some people playing it.
This first one is particulalry interesting for its use, midgame no less, of the little used 1970's comedy allstars version of the rules.



And here is the increasingly popular quickplay versio of the rules- the Beat Version. Not a fan of it myself, to modern and quick paced.



So now you know how toplay anyone wan a Tolkien themed version.
Instead of Mornington Crescent we will go with The Gaffers tater Patch.

I'll start with the first play, I'll go gentle, nothing fancy- just a straight forward opening- Poros.

Come on no one wanting to play?

Its an open enough starting move-Poros- I would have thought that at least a Lore Master could have come up with an opening move to counter it (but do remember as its xmas time, seasonal rules do apply, so only plays along diagonals are allowed on days when it is snowing)

I have no idea what the rules are and don't really want to watch 20 minutes of YouTube videos just to understand. :/

Are there any websites with a quick and easy summary of the rules?

Watch the short one, the last one, only 3 mins long- and you will see just how easy it is.

Okay okay, lets have a go.....

Do you play Nidd variants or are they suspended in mystic realms?

So seasonal rules means.......

Lets go with Lond Daer.

Ooooo- clearly not an amatuer move, most would go on a diagonal inland, but following the River, thats a good move!- you've played before Kafria, thats plain enough. I assume you play Northern Rules then.

I thought we'd keep nidd rules but only on occasions where its a response to reverse shunting and if its not a Tuesday. (except of course if its Tudor Rules that round and Plague Variants apply to all counter moves, but thats pretty obvious andprobably didnt need pointed out).

anyway, my next move- well not left me much choice from Lond Daer but to pull out a big move early on- The Wold.

Hah!


ps I was thinking of changing Nidd to something more ME- as Im sure you know Nidd is from the Yorkshire Varaint of the rules from 1978 and comes into play on blocking moves. As Nidd is a river could any of our Lore Masters think of a suitable northern ME equivelent- a river with a short name? (i can only think of long river names and they dont seem suitable)

I tried watching the last video and I'm still confused. What is the objective? What are the rules? Are the moves geographical? Geometrical? Alphabetical? If I'd ever played this game in real life I'm sure the video would make sense but I'd never heard of it before this thread.

The purpose of the game Eldo is to get to Mornington Crescent one move before your opponent does (or in our case The Gaffers Tater Patch).

For further information you could consult either Stovold's Mornington Crescent Almanac, considered the definitive work, or The Little Book of Mornington Crescent for something less authoritive. You should be able to find them on Amazon or similar.

The BBC once did a two part show on the history and rules, the first part covered the history and the second the rules.
Sadly due to industrial action the second episode was never broadcast but the first is still available.

But I am sure you will pick it up from Kafria's and I's game and feel free to jump in at anytime as there can be any number of players, although obviously they cant join a round which is on a reversal or whilst two or more players are locked in a subdiffuse.

ps still your move Kafria.

I'm sorry but that still doesn't make much sense since I don't even know what Mornington Crescent is, much less how one is supposed to get there. A bit of Googling reveals that:

The game consists of each panellist in turn announcing a landmark or street, most often a tube station on the London Underground system. The apparent aim is to be the first to announce "Mornington Crescent", a station on the Northern Line.[1] Interspersed with the turns is humorous discussion amongst the panellists and host regarding the rules and legality of each move, as well as the strategy the panellists are using. Despite appearances, however, there are no rules to the game,[2] and both the naming of stations and the specification of "rules" are based on stream-of-consciousness association and improvisation.[3] Thus the game is intentionally incomprehensible.[4]

So I suspect that my attempts to understand what is going on are futile.

How dare you Eldo!!!

You may get some help undersatnding the plays from this however and then wash your mouth out for such scurlious accusations of an ancient and noble British game!!

http://www.isihac.co.uk/games/mcvariations/index.html

Let me know when we're going to play Internet Calvinball.

you could think of it as a verbal calvinball, but with a greater heritage and a lot more rules.

sounds a bit esoteric to me.

Not at all Mrs Figg- right up your street you could play Tudor, Elizbethean, Edwardian or Victorian Rules. Extra shunts on moves whilst wearing a bustle. You could even use the Whalebone Corset opening gambit as invented and played by Miss Daphine Downginer-Symne in the 1876 Ladies Fall Competion (before mixed games were allowed of course)

Phil Harding from Time team reminds me of the Goblin King from the Hobbit. Except the Goblin King spoke better English.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8695000/8695764.stm

Hobbits should sound something like him, only fuller on.

Yes, Minister is returning to screens!
On first hearing the news I was horrified- but on reading further I am now more hopeful and a bit intrigued.
It is written by the same two writers who wrote all the originals and is partly based on their very successfully stage version of the show which they began a few years ago.
Apprently it will be 6 episodes and will see PM Jim Hacker having to deal with economic gloom, europe and a Scottish referendum!

It has a hell of job matching up to the originals however, so for now I will reserve judgement, cant deny to a small bit of excitment at the prospect of new Yes Minister from the pens of the same people however, despite my usual crabbitness.

I just found out that the main character in Breaking Bad, Walter White, is played by the same actor who plays the dad in Malcolm in the Middle.